Gary Stein: If this is progress, leave me behind

In fact, I'm a hip, cutting edge kind of guy. I even have a smart phone, althought I'm not quite smart enough to use all of it.

But even an obvious trend-setter like myself has a little problem with some of the things we consider progress.

For example:

Social media. I don't care what you had for breakfast, where your kids are eating lunch, or what your golf score was. Is it progress to tell that information to the world?

Satellite dishes. When your TV goes out during a sunshower, is that progress?

Now, add one more to the progress list:

Nationally televised high school football games.

That's what I was thinking about during the flap last week concerning Cypress Bay football coach Mark Guandolo, who was suspended for two weeks after slapping the helmet of quarterback Lucas Tellefsen.

Guandolo is well-respected, seemed genuinely contrite after the incident and handled the whole aftermath with class. Even Tellefsen's family said the slap was no big deal. I agree.

But lost in all of this was my immediate question — why was this high school football game nationally televised on ESPN?

And it was a pre-season high school game at that. Please.

Is ESPN that hard-up for programming? Don't they have another poker tournament they can televise for four or five hours?

Turns out that ESPN is televising 26 high school football this year. Some are regional telecasts. The Cypress Bay – American Heritage game last week was the first fully national telecast involving Broward high schools.

I ask again – is this progress? I prefer to call it overkill.

You can try to justify this by saying the television exposure helps some high school players be seen by college coaches and perhaps get a scholarship.

You could have said that a few years ago. Not now. With the advent of You Tube, Instagram, and Insta-Twit and all the others, a college coach can see high school players in many ways. Particularly in talent-rich South Florida. If you are playing high school football here and have talent, a college coach will figure out a way to find you.

And if you think the televised games are a huge financial bonanza for high schools, think again.

"The public schools don't get a cent . . .maybe they get a $1,000 scholarship sometimes," I was told by Damian Huttenhoff, Broward Schools director of athletics and student support.

"[ESPN] is making money off it, but nothing is coming back to the school."

On the contrary, Huttenhoff explained the schools actually have to provide 24-hour security for ESPN's TV trucks.

So why do this?

So some kids can get inflated egos? So they can work on their touchdown dances? So they can practice holding out for a bigger contract, just like the pros do? So the folks in Idaho can see it?

High school football used to be about the local community and spirit. How quaint. How passe. Definitely not a sign of progress.

As the slap by Guandolo gained more traction on TV and in the newspapers, I wondered if it would have been anything at all if the game hadn't been on national television.

But I imagine it would have.

Somebody would have caught the slap with their cellphone video camera, and in a few moments have it up on Facebook and Twitter.

Right after they told the world what they were having for dinner. Progress in action.